EU regulations specify that in order to qualify for ewe premium, all ewes on which premium is sought, must be retained on a specified holding for 100 days following the date of closure of the application period. The duration of the retention period, the imposition of which is for control purposes, is set out in a Council reguylation and any amendment to it must be either proposed by the Commission or agreed unanimously by Council. There is little or no prospect of this being agreed.
I have sought to address the fodder problems of producers by means of the two fodder packages which I have announced, under which a total of £41 million has been made available.